Here's MY sign.

This morning I finally hung my sign that I had ordered from here.

See, our driveway curves around our house like this.

And our children like to play right here, where it is hard to see them when you come around the corner.

Most people that know us, know to drive up slowly......just in case we are outside playing.

But some people don't know us. Especially big delivery trucks that are in a hurry to get their deliveries completed. They sometimes come roaring down the driveway and around the curve.

I usually sit in my nice blue plastic lawn chair, right in the middle of the driveway so I can see them from all angles and watch for cars.

I'm hoping this sign will be easy to spot and will make me a little less afraid that the kids will get mowed over by a speeding car or truck.

So this is how it looks. Does it grab your attention?

And I put it up none too soon, because right after, this is what my kids where doing.Now I need a sign that says "Please don't run over my kids as they are lying in the driveway.....pretending to take a nap".And then another sign that says "If you see my kid running down the road, please bring her back".

We're back.

Lance and I had a nice trip and spent time with a couple of my high school friends and their spouses. We went out to eat and then played shuffleboard. Well I didn't, I'm the type that doesn't like to play games unless I know I am good. Since I'm not in my eighties, I doubt I'm any good at shuffleboard. Then we saw the movie "What Happens in Vegas......" which was really funny.

Our hotel room, where we stayed the night, had a really noisy fan on the air conditioner and whenever it started up it was really really, loud. I should have complained right away and possibly been switched to a different room (leaving Lance behind of course). We decided maybe it wasn't that bad and attempted to sleep there anyway. Well Lance slept fine but I woke up many times when that stupid fan kicked in (and I had even taken a sleeping pill). So the next morning I did go and complain and they actually gave us the night for free. I was so shocked. We were hoping for a discount but that was really nice.

The hotel is called Homewood Suites by Hilton and we have stayed there quite a few times. We love it. It seems like it would be high priced but it's not. I highly recommend it.

We did a little shopping and picked up some really cute outfits for Gaby, Ryan, and Brooke on clearance. Yesterday I took some photos in them and that was a challenge. Some children were more cooperative than others. MaryBeth knows what I mean as she has also had some difficulty photographing her kids together lately. It must be the age.

My little Princess, Ashlyn. She sure loves that stuff.

Say What?

The kids are becoming more and more vocal and it is just so funny. Today Gaby said her first 3-word sentence. She said "Who did that?" How many times a day do you think she hears that phrase?

This was Ryan today. He was just babbling to himself for about 20 minutes. I have no idea what he was saying but it sounded good. I just don't know where he gets that from?

Brooke doesn't say much but she knows how to express her needs, or mostly, wants. She has this very annoying sound that she makes. It just grates on my nerves. Lets see if I can communicate it through typing. It's like "eeeeennh". I'll try to capture it on video one of these days. Just what you want to hear, right? She will talk when she wants to but seems to act like it's beneath her to speak to us. She shakes her head yes and no which is helpful, sometimes.

They've all got "no" down pretty well but so far it's really cute how they say it so it doesn't bother me too much. Yet, anyway.

Then Ashlyn and I had a great conversation a couple of days ago. She called me into the bathroom to help her wipe and she had a huge wad of toilet paper. We have had this conversation before. I mean the price of that stuff has become unreal. So I said "Ashlyn you are wasting the paper. It's expensive. Do you want me to start taking money out of your piggy bank to buy toilet paper?" She said, "No mommy don't do that. I will ask Santa for some Princess toilet paper and then I won't want to waste it."

Aint No Mountain High Enough.....

While loading the dishwasher after breakfast this morning, the babies were being especially quiet. Then comes the decision, do I relish the rare moment of silence or investigate because they are probably up to something?

Well I went to peek into the playroom and this is what I found.

Remember what I said yesterday about my mom being busy working and we did things we weren't supposed to? This is what I'm talking about. Seeing my 3 babies on top of the changing table (which doesn't look very tall in the photo but actually is) made my heart race for a second and in my mind I was seeing my siblings and I on top of our barns, silos, and any other tall building on our farm. You name it we did it.

So this, apparently, is where it starts. Of course I did what any other parent would do. I grabbed my camera, said "say cheese" and then said "that is naughty, don't ever do it again!!!"

Ashlyn wanted to get in on the fun too.

I also got the results back on my scan from last week and it isn't serious. I was kinda thinking a cyst but worried anyway. I had 2 marble sized cysts, one on each ovary and fluid that looked like a third one ruptured. I had suspected I had a rupture the night before because my little bit of pain and mostly feeling uncomfortable, became stabbing pains to the point I took a Hydrocodone and reclined. I felt much better but that stuff keeps me awake so I got very little sleep that night. I only take them when I absolutely have to. So what this means? Probably birth control pills which usually make me ill and numerous other side effects.

Happy Campers.

Today went much better. My Blogger friend Dorinda once said, and I quote "It's called toddler roller coaster - one day you think you can't take one more second and are going nuts and the next they are the cutest thing on two legs (or six) and you wonder why you were upset in the first place. I think God made them that way on purpose." So why couldn't he have equipped parents with a defense mechanism like temporary deafness or hyperexagerated couldcarelessedness. Sorry, making up words again.

Anyway, on to the cuteness. Last night they all sat down and watched Alice in Wonderland.It was the first time that all my kids have actually sat down and watched a movie. OK the babies only sat for about 15 minutes, but its a start. Ashlyn loved this movie and watched it 4 times (it was a rental). To anyone who cares it's a future gift idea. We normally don't watch that much TV (really, we don't) but sometimes it has to be done or momma loses her mind.

Today we got out of the house bright and early. If it weren't for the outrageous gas prices and the lack of funds, we would go out a lot more. But, like I hear from my mom and mother-in-law, "when their kids were little they never went anywhere either". When you are a stay home mom, and live in the country, and don't have a ton of money, you stay home. Then you get creative, or in my mom's case you stay busy.......and find out when your kids are grown......they did lots of stuff they weren't supposed to do. I'm sure that also happened in my mother-in-laws case. If you know Lance and his siblings you are shaking your head yes as you read this.

This morning, we went to return the movies and play at the park. We had a picnic and then went for ice cream. The kids had a blast and fell happily to sleep the minute we got home. The babies actually woke up happy and had a great time playing in Ashlyn's tent while she was asleep. The tent is pitched in the living room.They had so much fun. They would run across the room and give me a kiss and then run back to the tent and pile in. Here, Brooke is actually trying to kiss Ryan. Yes, you heard me, they are actually starting to kiss each other. They hug too. It is so beautiful it sometimes makes me want to cry.Here are a few tickle shots. It was a really fun day and I might actually miss them when we go away this weekend. Lance and I are spending a night away for our upcoming anniversary. We are celebrating 12 years. That's another roller coaster I could talk about.

What's with Boys?

Is it really the difference in gender or is it personality? My son refuses to sleep, and therefore is a complete emotional wreck throughout most of the day. He throws tantrum after tantrum.

We are starting week 3 of converting 2 naps to 1. This all started because Ryan refused to take a second nap. I was keeping him up in the morning and then he was ready for a nap right after lunch. The girls had just woken up so they weren't tired yet. Then when they were tired, Ryan was asleep and I didn't want to wake him by putting the girls to bed. So I started keeping them all up and putting them all to bed after lunch.

So by now they should be taking a nice long nap after lunch, right? So they can recharge. So I can recharge...and have a break from the constant crying and fighting. This is when I either rest myself (because I didn't sleep the night before) or I get some things done that have been waiting all morning. Child free.

So what am I supposed to do when Ryan wakes up after almost an hour, screaming his head off? He also does this during the night lately. I have been giving him Tylenol and sometimes Mortin beforehand, and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I don't know if it's his teeth or what?

All I know is that he has been like this from day one. He was always needing to be comforted whether it was with a pacifier, a blanket, a stuffed animal, or daddy to rub his back. Sometimes when I put him to bed he will start screaming and jumping in his crib even though he is completely exhausted. If I give him a different stuffed animal, that he hasn't already had in his crib, he will take it and lay down and go to sleep.

If he was a singleton, with his own room, I would assume he needs to learn to comfort himself, and let him cry. Unfortunately, he shares a room with his 2 sisters that like to sleep. If I had an extra bedroom I'd move him out but Ashlyn is already in the hallway. Even if I put her in their room and him in the hallway, his crying would still wake everyone up.

Does anyone have any advice? Am I missing something? I want so badly to like my son. I still love him very much, but right now, I do not like him very often.

Update ~ He was actually pretty good this afternoon once he got the screaming out of his system. He can be really adorable when he wants to. I think he sensed that I was almost at my breaking point and didn't want to push it. I feel really bad once things settle down and wish I were a better mom. I wish I were a little calmer in situations like this. Maybe he just really needs his mommy.

Confessions of a Chronic Worrier.

Some people are raised Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or Buddhist (and the list goes on). I was raised Baptist, but I was also raised worrishously. Never heard of that religion? Ok, so maybe it's not so much a theological practice, but instead a genetic defect.

All I know is that my mother is a worrier and not only have I inherited the trait but I've witnessed it practiced in my household since birth. Sorry Mom but people who know you are not going to be surprised. This is not a parent bashing post, I love my parents. I'm only trying to sort through my own head why I only got 3 hours of sleep last night.

Half of it can be contributed to my children. For some reason they decided they hadn't seen enough of mommy and daddy during the day and took turns screaming bloody murder pretty much every 45 minutes.

The other sleepless hours were spent tossing and turning and silently going through my long list of "what ifs". What if there is a fire? How will we get all the kids down the stairs and out to safety? What if there is a tornado? What if the gas prices become so high we have to resort to horses and buggies or be stuck at home every day? And of course the worry that tops them all, what will I do if something happens to one of my kids?

I know it really is pointless. I know that God already has our lives planned out but I cannot seem to retrain my brain. Hopefully I have at least diluted some of this DNA by adding Lance's genes. He doesn't worry about anything.

It doesn't help to be trained in the medical profession. That only increases my worries. I've seen the worse case scenarios. I've seen the person who felt a little off and seemed to be forgetting things, then went on to find out they had a brain tumor and died less than a year later. So I will continue to be suspicious of every cough, bump, and hang nail. I will be the mom that calls with a ton of questions that may seem ridiculous (which on the other end of the phone, during a busy day, seems annoying....I've been there also).

Some day my vigilance may pay off. I just might discover a rare illness in one of family members, in the early stages, when it can still be treated.

Having an evacuation plan ingrained in my brain may save my kids from dying in a fire.

Keeping all sharp objects and small pieces out of reach may keep my kids from getting cut or choking. Unless of course they learn how to do this (Ryan's favorite new game is to push a chair up so he can reach things that were, up until now, out of reach).

But at the very least hopefully I can sleep a little easier, knowing that my kids are healthy and safe. Then I will smile a lot more.

This concludes my brain babble for today.

"Bye-ya".

TGIF.

Mostly I'm glad it's Friday because I get to go to work tomorrow. I love Saturdays!!

Yesterday, Ashlyn was still obsessing about the skunk, or "stunk" as she calls it. She was even worried about her cousins (Riley and Amanda)that live just across the cornfield from us. She asked if their house has a door that they can close to keep the "stunk" out. We have seen no evidence of out little critter since that day which I appreciate very much.


Ashlyn had a really fun day yesterday with her cousins. It was my niece Morgan's 10th birthday. I'm sure my sister agrees that its unbelievable that she is already 10. They went to the lake and then had ice cream. Ashlyn is the one in the pink tube on the left. The green is Nicholas (Morgan's brother), Morgan is the one without a tube, Elisabeth is the other pink one (she is my oldest brother's daughter), then her brother Bennett is in the blue one, and Kayla (Morgan's sister) is the blue one with flowers, and Nathan (my other brother's son) is behind the blue tube. Yesterday morning I got the pleasure of having my ovaries scanned. It was a blast let me tell you. When they tell me to drink 4, eight oz glasses of water, I drink 2 and I still felt like I was going to pee my pants. Then I got to lay flat on my back for about half an hour while the tech pressed the wand into my painfully full bladder. The reason for the scan is to hopefully find a cyst and nothing serious. I've been having some swelling, a little pain and a lot of feeling like there's a balloon in my belly. I've had cysts before but the symptoms weren't quite the same and didn't last this long. I'm not letting myself worry too much yet but am a little upset that I will probably not find out the results of my scan until Monday. I absolutely hate how our health care system works in cases like this. For me, to not even be able to see what is inside my own body while a tech does the scan, then I know she is not allowed to tell me what she sees or thinks it is (they could get fired for this), she takes her photos to the radiologist who reviews them and writes up a report. Then, the radiologist is swamped and usually goes in order of urgency. Since I still have not heard anything I'm guessing that it's nothing too serious. Still I would like to know. It's driving me crazy and I haven't slept well in about a week. I've always thought that our bodies should have a window so that we can just look inside and see what is going on in there. I'll tell you something really funny. The whole time I was laying on the table it was like deja vu from when I was pregnant. I kept thinking "if she tells me there is a baby in there I'm going to die". I'm pretty sure that news would not have waited until Monday.

Shhh, Don't tell Daddy....

Remember this photo? Ashlyn helping Daddy plant the garden? Well is seems that our efforts have paid off. Ashlyn didn't like peas until she tasted the fresh ones out of the garden that she helped plant.Now we can't keep the kids out of the garden. They have already learned how to sneak in there and steal peas.We're not too upset cause they are eating them, after all.We want them to save some for us, and the peas are a little small yet, so I usually only let them each have 1 or 2 pods.Then to get them to leave the garden I say "run the mosquitoes are coming" "hurry".
So far it has been working. They all take off running and giggling.It was such a beautiful morning today so we spent a lot of time outside. Apparently we came in just in time because after I put the babies down for a nap and was sitting at the computer, I smelled a skunk. I looked out the window and it appears that our momma cat was sprayed in the face. I feel badly for her but I'm not going anywhere near her. I didn't actually see the skunk so I hope it's not too near by. We'll have to be on the lookout when we are outside. Ashlyn has been talking nonstop about it and what she will do if she sees it. I showed her a photo on the Internet of a skunk and she thinks they are really cute. I think I've scared her enough about it that she will not try and pet it if she sees one. I hope.

Gaby is the only one that doesn't like the peas. So to include her into this post I will show you her latest game. She loves climbing into things like strollers, wagons, playpens, and highchairs and then pretend crying for someone to come and get her out. She does this over and over. It's been about a week of this game and we are getting tired of it.

All Aboard!!

I was searching for a new form of exercise for myself and this is what I've found. Pushing 100 lbs of babies up and down and around in our driveway. They love it and I can "feel the burn".

Notice Ashlyn's bling? That's what she wanted to wear this morning.

If your wondering when we got a quad stroller, we didn't. It's technically a double but sometimes you gotta improvise.

A Beautiful Princess and a Tub of Cool Whip.

Sounds kinky, doesn't it? I can only imagine the hits I'm going to receive from people looking for porn.

She didn't eat the whole tub, she is just licking the bowl. We made a really good chocolate pie that my mom gave me the recipe for. Notice Brooke and Ryan, waiting patiently, hoping she'll share.Not a chance.
Then to burn off some of the extra energy from the chocolate, she decided to dance like a princess.
Her balance is impeccable.
So precise are her movements.
With a big finish at the end.Then back to the cool whip tub to see if there's any left.
Yesterday was my mother-in-law's birthday. We had a little get together at our house last night. Even though we grilled the steaks outside and I only used one burner on the stove, our house was like an oven. We only have AC upstairs in our bedroom, provided by a window unit. We would like to get one for downstairs also but are trying to hold out until next year. We have already spent so much money on home improvement that we are at our limit (and then some).

Gas and grocery prices aren't helping matters at all.

The house actually came with a window unit for the kitchen but that thing went straight to the dump. I don't know what year it was made but it was the biggest air conditioner I have ever seen. Here is actually a photo of it. See it sitting on the desk to the left? You can't even see it all, that is only half of it. I can only imagine how much electricity it took to power that dinosaur.

Today is also a very sticky, humid day. I don't know why I am even sitting at this computer because I know it is throwing off some serious heat, and I could be napping upstairs with the kids.

I know the heat is adding to the kids poor temperament and it's not making me feel any less grouchy either. While I was cleaning up the kitchen this morning, I kept noticing a wine glass (from the party) with one tiny drop of wine left in the bottom. With a baby hanging on each leg and Ashlyn whining that she wanted more milk, it was sure a good thing I did not have access to any alcohol.

And seriously, could you listen to this all day without popping a cork (literally and figuratively)?

Thank God I have this guy to come home and save me at 5 pm every evening.

Please ignore our messy, disaster of a kitchen. A big change from the photo before we moved in, huh? It doesn't always look like that. Only about 90% of the time.